“Global sea surface temperatures have just reached the highest mark in Earth’s recorded history.
“Marine heatwaves are dominating Earth’s oceans. Sea surface temperatures are even outpacing 2016 when the last Super El Niño occurred.
“Another El Niño will likely develop this summer/fall and could potentially be quite strong.”
https://twitter.com/US_Stormwatch/status/1636841867638882307
“One of the largest sea stars in the world, the sunflower sea star, was once common along the Pacific Coast of North America. Its sharp decline has prompted NOAA Fisheries to propose listing the species as threatened…
“While Sea Star Wasting Syndrome is not well understood, it appears to be exacerbated by rapid changes in water temperature, warmer ocean temperatures, and other physical stressors. Outbreaks are likely to recur as the climate continues to warm…”
“Oceanfront homes crumble in California as torrential rains lead to landslides.
“Across California, residents have been reeling from the effect of extreme weather, with a large portion of the state now covered by a presidential emergency declaration. California has been hit with 11 atmospheric rivers in a virtually nonstop series…”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/17/california-landslides-storms-homes
“50 feet of snow buries chairlifts at California ski resorts.
““This historic year is a sight to see,” Sierra-at-Tahoe stated Monday on Facebook. “Chairs have significant rime ice buildup that must be manually removed, lift shacks + ski patrol stations are completely buried, Puma chairs in West Bowl have been covered.”
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/03/50-feet-of-snow-buries-chairlifts-at-california-ski-resorts
“Wildfires across the West are killing more trees — making it harder for forests to regrow.
“Hotter and drier conditions caused by climate change are helping lead to more severe wildfires across the West. Those more severe wildfires are hurting the forests’ ability to regrow after the fires are out. Those are among the findings of a new report from the Nature Conservancy and others.”
“‘We need some rain prayer’ [Jamaica]…
“”This is one of the worst droughts. When the stats are taken it will do more damage than any other drought in the last 50 years. Look on the Irish potato crop, [it] has been lost. Yam farmers, another major group, what they are reaping it doesn’t make any sense and they can’t plant back, because the drought is so intense,” he said.”
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/we-need-some-rain-prayer/
“Peru: Chaclacayo suffers third-landslide day.
“The Chaclacayo population faces a new landslide at kilometer 24 of Carretera Central (Central Highway), which has paralyzed the transit of people and vehicles in said district of eastern Metropolitan Lima. The strength of water has broken the walls of various houses…”
https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-peru-chaclacayo-suffers-thirdlandslide-day-933160.aspx
“Endless heat in Argentina: on 16th March temperatures above 35C spread again South to Patagonia with 36.5C [97.7F] at San Antonio Oeste.
“The heat in Central Argentina and SE Brazil will go on including the week with temperatures well above mid summer averages, let alone March.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1636800924185133084
“Sewage alert at 50 UK beaches after rain triggers spills…
“The spills were caused by downpours that followed the driest February in England in 30 years. Experts said further “unseasonably sustained” rainfall would be needed to avoid drought conditions this summer.”
“Half a million trees have died next to one 21-mile stretch of road, National Highways admits [UK].
“National Highways planted 850,000 saplings as part of a £1.5bn upgrade of the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon, which was opened in 2020. But an internal review seen by Sky News reveals three-quarters of them have since died.”
“‘Alarming’ rate of mountain forest loss a threat to alpine wildlife…
“An area of mountain forest larger than the state of Texas has been lost since 2001, with the amount disappearing each year accelerating at an “alarming” rate, a study warns… The main drivers of loss were logging, the expansion of agriculture and wildfires.”
“Historic warm spell in SW France and Spain: on 16 March 29.7C [85.5F] at Trois Ville in France.
29.1C at San Sebastian AP in Spain (Basque Region), both records for March.
“Several monthly records fell in France with full summer temperatures.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1636406347947446274
“Farming and tourism under threat as winter drought dries up France’s Lake Montbel.
“Set at foot of the Pyrenees mountains, Lake Montbel is famous in south-west France for its turquoise waters, massive size and thriving aquatic life. But as spring nears, the postcard landscape has largely turned into a muddy wasteland…”
“Spain enters long-term drought after another abnormally warm winter…
“For the first time on record, Spain has seen five unusually warm winters in a row… This winter, despite moments of chilly temperatures, there were no official “cold waves.” Instead, temperatures were an average of 0.8 C (1.44 F) warmer than usual in Peninsular Spain… Spain saw its hottest December on record.”
“Italy readies 7.8 billion euro package to tackle drought…
“Italian rivers and lakes are suffering from a severe lack of water, the Legambiente environmental group said last month, adding the Po, Italy’s longest river which runs from the Alps in the northwest to the Adriatic, had 61% less water than normal at that time.”
“Greece Bears Highest Climate-Related Economic Costs in EU due to Wildfires and Floods.
“Wildfires and floods have combined in recent years to cause extensive damage, leading to Greece having the highest level of climate-related economic costs in the European Union, at €91 ($96.95) per capita. This figure was recorded for 2020, prior to the even more devastating fires that followed.”
https://www.thenationalherald.com/greece-hardest-hit-eu-country-for-wildfires-flooding-losses/
“In the past two decades, the number of extreme weather events in Turkey has been on the increase as a result of the climate crisis.
“In 2022, some 1,030 such events occurred, setting an all-time high for the country. In the two previous years, the number of events was 1,024 and 984, respectively.”
“Floods Death Toll Reaches 18 in Türkiye. “In 36 hours the amount of rain that usually falls in a year fell,” the Interior Minister Soylu said.
“On Friday, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu confirmed that 18 people have died in the last two days due to flooding in southeastern Turkey, in an area already affected by the February 6 earthquakes.”
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Floods-Death-Toll-Reaches-18-in-Turkiye-20230317-0008.html
“15 people lost their lives as result of floods in north Kurdistan.
“Strong floods caused by heavy rains in Raha, Samsur and Malatya in Bakur, yesterday, caused the loss of 13 people their lives in Raha and 2 in Samsur. While Amed, Merdin, and the surrounding cities also witnessed strong floods and torrential rains.”
“A scene of how high the hail piles are in Najran [Saudi].” Video:
https://twitter.com/Om_SeaGateWeath/status/1636790617324789760
“Malawians fear storm Freddy could make deadliest cholera outbreak worse.
“”Unfortunately …there is a real concern now that we could in the next few weeks see a reversal in the gains that were so hard-won over the past month or so,” said Arielle Nylander, senior health policy analyst at WaterAid.”
“The cyclone that lived longest: How Freddy broke all kinds of records…
“At 37 days, Freddy is the longest lived tropical cyclone ever recorded in any of Earth’s oceans and has broken the record of 31 days set by Hurricane John in 1994… Freddy also broke the record for the highest accumulated cyclone energy… Apart from this, Cyclone Freddy is the first tropical cyclone ever to experience seven phases of rapid intensification (RI) over its lifetime.”
“Kenya’s livestock markets reeling from devastating impacts of acute drought…
“Ngao said since the establishment of the market decades ago, the traders have never experienced a drought of such magnitude. Tala Town, located in the southern Kenyan county of Machakos, is sandwiched between sunbaked plains, with the primary source of livelihood being agriculture and livestock keeping.”
https://english.news.cn/20230316/a8dbbc59235b4e4abe035d5845a0094f/c.html
“Farmers in central Azerbaijan staged a protest this week over a long-festering problem — the shortage of water — and were violently suppressed by police…
“Saatli residents told BBC Azerbaijani that they have to water their fields with brackish water. “These soils will become dead in a maximum of two years,” one resident said. “They won’t yield even 10 centimeters.””
https://eurasianet.org/police-crack-down-on-water-protest-in-azerbaijan
“Seven million Iraqi children have limited access to safe water at school…
“For years the country has faced water scarcity issues, compounded by climate change, that affects the peace and security of the region. The invasion and ensuing violence left the country in a shambles, while corruption and mismanagement led to a slow reconstruction effort…”
“Untimely rains threaten India winter crops just before harvesting.
“Untimely rains and hailstorms could damage India’s key winter-sown crops, such as wheat, rapeseed and chickpeas, just before harvesting begins for plants that have already suffered some heat stress, industry and weather department officials say.”
“A brutal heat wave is about to sweep East Asia (yes, again!) with temperatures expected to approach 40C [104F] in parts of Southern China. Japan will also see abnormal warmth.
“After more than 500 records beaten earlier this month, hundreds more are set to fall.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1636708837485887488
“New South Wales has just had its coolest summer in 11 years, but now March is on track to be the hottest on record…
“Daily maximums this March have climbed as much as 15 degrees Celsius above the long-term average. In some cases, they have been the highest in decades, but it is not the extreme days that have been unprecedented, it has been the consistency of the heat.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-18/nsw-weather-record-hot-march-follows-cool-summer/102113280
“Millions of fish dead in the worst mass kill ever to hit Menindee region, in NSW’s far west.
“Authorities have confirmed the overall scale and size of this mass fish kill eclipses similar events in 2018 and 2019. The horrific incident has been caused by low oxygen levels in the water combined with high temperatures, expected to peak above 40 degrees Celsius in the area over the weekend.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-18/nsw-menindee-mass-fish-kill-worst-in-region/102115184
“Fire crews busy with extreme fire risk across parts of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
“Lake Eildon residents in Victoria’s alpine region are being told to leave their homes immediately to escape an out-of-control bushfire… The blaze is the latest of multiple bushfires across the state on Saturday as inland temperatures in Victoria ranged between the mid-30s to low-40s, along with high winds and dry ground cover.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-18/heat-wave-fire-risk-across-several-states/102115098
“Global fresh water demand will outstrip supply by 40% by 2030, say experts.
“The world is facing an imminent water crisis, with demand expected to outstrip the supply of fresh water by 40% by the end of this decade, experts have said on the eve of a crucial UN water summit. Governments must urgently stop subsidising the extraction and overuse of water…”
“Here are the most polluted cities in the U.S. and world.
“About 90% of the global population in 2022 experienced unhealthy air quality… The report found that the top five most polluted countries in 2022 were Chad, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain and Bangladesh. The most polluted cities globally were Lahore, Pakistan; Hotan, China; Bhiwadi, India; Delhi, India; and Peshawar, Pakistan.”
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” thread.
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Peter Ward on CO2, Extinction Events, and a Stagnant Ocean
Dr Wards book, Under A Green Sky” was one of first reads I encountered that presented how serious our addiction of the burning of carbon based fuels would cause another great extinction, like others in the past, due to the changing composition in the atmosphere.
Here is an excerpt of an interview from Nate Hagen just posted.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OS4FIoOKKfc
In it he stated that by running out cars each day and emitting greenhouse gas in the air is committing collective suicide.
Be as it may, doubt humans can change things ….Professor Guy McPherson just posted another pointing out his own prepping strategy was maybe storing a few weeks of food and have a portable water filtering system and being of the mindset to accept the outcome in a living manner.
Thanks, Vince. I suppose one can take some small consolation in the fact that life always seems to find a way to bounce back after these mass extinction events. Hopefully some negative feedbacks will prevent the planet from going full Venusian.
Hello Panopticon
Thanks for your update.
It’s always extra interesting when it includes a post from a place you know well. Lac Montbel! indeed a beautiful, albeit artificial lake in the middle of the mysterious Cathar country. It was the closest beach nearby and ideal and very child-friendly. Very shallow in fact! The lake serves mainly as an irrigation basin for the land and wine-growing in the area. Well that looks sad. There were a couple of videos that showed the pitifully low water levels well.
And…. hardly a drop of rain in our southern French departments again this month.
So I did some ‘ local’ research this weekend and the provincial newspapers are full of it, with all sorts of interviews and stories from villagers. Villages I know well that have had to be supplied daily with tankers for months….
One of the most famous French regional novels ‘ Manon des sources’ precisely has drying wells as its central theme. Endlessly filmed with the latest being Epic from ’86 starring Yves Montand and Gerard Depardieu. All the locations where the film was shot at the time are now suffering from a drought that has now lasted for years…. A sort of twist of fate.
The drought in ‘our regions’ makes people suddenly revert to old religious rituals. Processions have been held again in several villages and towns in the South and Corsica to beg for rain. In Perpignan surely a major southern Occitanian city, one was held just last week.
….Will this procession make it rain in Perpignan? Due to the drought that has plagued the Pyrénées-Orientales for six months now, residents and farmers will gather in the streets of the prefecture on Saturday 18 March to beg for the return of rain, reports L’Indépendant.
This religious procession, a first for 150 years, was initiated by vintner Georges Puig, who asked the abbot of Perpignan cathedral to organise it.
The effigy of Saint-Gaudérique, patron saint of Catalan farmers and a 9th-century Catholic saint, was taken out of the ‘closet’ for the occasion and carried in procession through the streets of Perpignan. The march ended with a blessing in the waters of the river Têt.
“The age-old tradition was that the relics should be immersed. Therefore, farmers carried to carry the stretcher to the bed of the Têt, to the middle of the river…..
But yes immersion was out of the question as there is no more than 20 centimetres of water in the river 🙂
The Pyrénées-Orientales department has been under an intensified drought alert for weeks, a situation never seen since Météo-France began monitoring (1959).
My house is right next to a ‘ never’ dry spring. But last summer it was almost there…. a very small trickle was all that came out. Never seen since time immemorial.
https://www.midilibre.fr/2023/03/19/quelques-heures-apres-une-procession-contre-la-secheresse-une-pluie-miraculeuse-est-tombee-sur-perpignan-11072813.php
Very dire, Zip. The phrase “There are no atheists in foxholes” comes to mind.
Hello Cassandra
Thank you for your kind comments
I dedicated a short story to it…. maybe you can open the link there are beautiful pictures with it
“Make it rain!” a procession against the drought and it rained a few hours later
Flicking through my regional newspapers today, it struck me that the ‘ drought’ here in the southern regions is far from over. A number of villages in my immediate vicinity, especially just across the border with the Ardeche like Coucouronne, are still being supplied with water by tanker trucks that drive up and down with 12,000 litres of drinking water every day. An unsustainable situation in the long run.
And rain in the short term ? well they, Meteo France with all their scientific forecasters do promise it, but they are lied to every time and even the long-term forecast does not offer much relief.
And the same goes for the Var, where as if the devil were playing with it, the regions and villages that served as the dramatic backdrop for the Manon des sources are particularly affected. The Mediterranean landscapes and carnations from the famous French regional novels by Marcel Pagnon, starring Yves Montand, Gerard Depardieu and, of course, Manon, Emanuelle Beart, the mystical manager of the source. Also in those regions it is as dry as ‘never’ before.
Well then go after Perpignan, where they just dust off the old rituals and relics again and conjure them out of the cathedral….an exercise in repentance and beg the higher powers for rain. It is as if we are gradually returning to the Middle Ages.
…..Some hundreds of people took part in a procession between the cathedral and the river Têt in Perpignan on Saturday to beg for the return of rain and fight the drought. The remains of Saint-Gaudérique, the patron saint of peasants, known for bringing rain on divine call was taken from the cathedral in supreme distress. Between liturgical songs and prayers, the procession departed from St John the Baptist Cathedral.
The participants – believers and non-believers – walked to the bed of the river Têt, which crosses Perpignan. Four peasants carried a relic of Saint Gaudérique and crossed the river on foot. In front of many passers-by, the cathedral archpriest proceeded to bless the area at the four cardinal points with the relic of the true cross of the Lord. A similar ceremony has taken place in the past. “This is what happened in 1865. It was a period a bit like now. The people organised a big procession and the next day it rained heavily for several weeks, sparing the cultivated fields,” Catalan historian Jean-Luc Antoniazzi tells us.
It must be said that the Pyrénées-Orientales is the department where the drought is already the worst in France. Yet water is essential for the department’s many market gardeners, the 191 campsites and the 100 or so hotels in the area. Not to mention the department’s 480,000 inhabitants. Coincidence or not: it started raining around 7pm. Around 7pm and showers fell in the Catalan countryside for the first time in weeks.
Whether it is enough…. this exercise in Godliness???? Only the higher powers know and until then we will have to make do with the tanker trucks driving to and fro here….
https://www.facebook.com/groups/494137351012991/user/100043325085199
Zip, I shall keep my fingers crossed for diving intervention. I can’t shake the feeling that we’ll see the switch flip at some point and Europe will be absolutely deluged, as Australia and California have been but perhaps I’m off base there.